Hello darlings and welcome to my story. Just a heads up, the chapters are written like episodes and the lines mark where scenes would change. With that in mind, jump right into the story. I hope you like it. :)
Chapter One: A Second Chance Part One
Merlin sat alone. He had been sitting alone by the Lake of Avalon for 1476 years and still no Arthur. Many times Merlin had thought for certain that Arthur would return, but each time his hopes had been dashed. Even during the World Wars when all of Britain had been in peril, the Lake had not stirred and Arthur remained lost. Merlin lifted his head to allow the wind to blow freely on his face. It was almost July and soon he would not be alone anymore. Children would swarm to the Lake to play and fish. Not that he minded the children, in fact he enjoyed their company. It was the parents that he didn't like. They were always staring at him as if he was going to whisk away their child the moment they turned their backs. Merlin couldn't blame them, not with the way things were nowadays. He missed the old days when children could play freely without fear of being snatched away at any moment. He missed chivalry, knights, dragons, Camelot, and Arthur, mainly Arthur.
Merlin sighed and shifted his position, wincing as his joints creaked in protest. He sat back against a tree and let the summer day sweep over him. To any normal person, it would look like an old man enjoying a summer day, but inside he was anything but old. His appearance was a Glamour, a spell of illusion, which helped him to blend in with society. He would show up in the town as a young man, magic himself so that he appeared to grow old, and then he would fake his death and return in a few years once everyone had forgotten about him. He lived in a cottage which overlooked the Lake. He had built it after Arthur died. Merlin simply had not had the heart to return to Camelot after Arthur's death, too many memories. Guinevere had been very understanding and had given him materials and allowed the knights to go with him to help build his new home. Merlin's cottage looked as old as it was. Its moss covered stone and blue tiled roof made it look like something out of a old fairytale. The inside of the house was littered with old books and scrolls, bottles containing who knows what, and strange artifacts with magical properties. Around the cottage was an ill-kept garden which contained herbs and flowers that Merlin used in his experiments and to create potions.
Merlin smiled and then winced as his bones creaked in complaint to a small shift in his position. He reached into his pocket and then looked around to make sure he was alone before removing a bottle that was in his pocket. It contained an odd colored liquid which smelled as terrible as it tasted. Merlin took a drink and wrinkled his face in disgust. Even after all these years, he still was not used to the taste of the Ageing potion. He closed his eyes and waited for the potion to take effect. He felt the years drop away from him and when he opened his eyes he saw that he was once again a young man. The same young warlock who had been Arthur's friend all those years ago. He leaned back, relishing the fact that he felt young again. He would have to turn back into an old man to return to town but for now he wanted to be young and enjoy the sun and reminisce.
"Well done,'' he heard a sarcastic female voice behind him say, "I would be worried indeed if the great and powerful Emrys could not even perform a simple Glamour."
Merlin stood up and turned around in one motion, ready for anything. He came face to face with a woman. Her blonde hair framed a face that was both beautiful and powerful. Her dress hugged her body in all of the right places and showed that she was indeed very beautiful. However, it was her eyes which showed her as not being human. Her eyes were gold and glowed with a power all their own. Merlin shuddered, she was not human.
"Who are you and how do you know my ancient name?" Merlin asked, knowing he sounded awkward and stupid.
The woman laughed in scorn and amusement. "I know you," she said, "for I have watched you from the moment you were born. I gave you your powers and wrote your Destiny. I think you can guess the answer to your second question now."
Merlin stared back at the woman. Fear and recognition ran across his face. "Triple Goddess!?" he breathed, half question, half amazement.
The woman nodded, her one brisk movement confirming his question.
At once Merlin was on edge, goddesses do not simply stop by to say hello. They only make contact with humans if they need a quest completed or if they have been summoned. Besides, it had been the Triple Goddess who had condemned Arthur to die.
"What do you want?" Merlin growled at her.
The Triple Goddess sighed and looked down at her feet. "Before you turn a deaf ear to me," she said, "I ask that you hear my request." She paused and plucked at the hem of her sleeve before continuing, "I have come to say that I am sorry."
Merlin looked at her, his eyes wide and mouth slightly open. Had he just heard her correctly? Was the Triple Goddess actually apologizing to him?
She smiled sadly at his stunned expression. "I have watched you suffer all these years waiting for Arthur to return, "she said, "I have watched you leave everything else that you cared about behind and devote yourself entirely to waiting. I am sorry for all of your tears and wasted years. But I wish you to know that I too have suffered for my choice. In my rage at having so many of my followers killed, I thought that I was doing the right thing by allowing Arthur to die. I was wrong. With his death and your abandonment of Camelot, Guinevere turned a blind eye to the executions of magic users. She held a secret hatred for them because two of them, Mordred and Morgana, had plotted Arthur's downfall and slain him. As time wore on, things only became worse. Not only were people forbidden to use magic but many began to believe that it did not exist in the first place. Then came the witch hunts and burnings. Those few who remained as my servants and followers were all but exterminated, and I was left weakened without any to serve me. You are one of the last who still believe in the Old Ways, Emrys. Without you, magic would cease to exist and I would perish. As it is, I am weaker than I ever have been. The world was not meant to be this way. There was one who was prophesized to lead my people and protect them, but their destiny was intertwined with your own. With Arthur's death, all was changed and their destiny was lost. Instead, they were faced with a life which was so despicable and pointless that they killed themself to escape it. I was my own downfall, my own destruction, and it has taken me this long to realize this. I stand before you now, weak and fading, to ask for your forgiveness and offer you a chance, a chance to go back and save Arthur."
Merlin's breath caught in his throat. Go back? Save Arthur? That was impossible. "No man can change his Fate and no one can turn back time," Merlin said loudly.
The Triple Goddess laughed. "You humans and your petty beliefs," she said, "I am a goddess and even in this weakened state I can still do things beyond your imagination."
Merlin's heart leapt in his chest, if what she said was true then he could save Arthur, but he was still cautious. Nothing in this world was free; all of his years of experience had taught him that. "What do you want in return for this gift, Triple Goddess?" he asked, warily
The Triple Goddess smiled. "All I ask is that you allow events to unfold as they will," she replied.
She extended her hand towards him in an unspoken invitation. After a moment's hesitation, Merlin grasped the hand that was offered to him. After all, what did he have to lose? The Triple Goddess smiled slowly as a warm golden light surrounded them. As the light began to block out all other color and shape, he heard her say, "You will not remember what has occurred this day, but you will not forget our deal. You must allow what will happen to happen. That is all I ask."
With that, the light surrounded them and Merlin became lost in its glow.
Merlin stood on the hill overlooking the Lake of Avalon. He was supporting Arthur whose breathing was becoming weaker and more strained. Merlin slowly blinked and shook his head looking around. There was something strange about this place. It was as if he had seen it before, but he was sure he had never been here before. It was then that he noticed the woman standing in front of him, holding their horses and stroking their manes. She smiled at Merlin and Arthur before speaking.
"Remember Emrys the pact we have made. I have changed Arthur's destiny in exchange for you allowing what will happen to happen. Do not forget," she said as she released the horses and walked towards them. She reached out and touched Arthur cheek before, with a flash of golden light, she was gone.
Merlin blinked in wonder at the display of power and remained motionless until Arthur moaned. Merlin remembered his quest and drug Arthur to the horses, determined to make it to the Lake before it was too late.
Gwaine and Percival were riding to face Morgana. Their capes flapped behind them as they charged through the woods. Any wariness of the power Morgana held and the likelihood of their deaths was forgotten as they charged through the woods, determined to have their revenge. Suddenly, their horses came to a halt and stood with sides heaving. No amount of urging made the horses move and just when they were about to dismount and continue on foot, a woman appeared. She looked at them with laughing golden eyes.
"What is the matter, good knights, have your horses grown more brains then you?" she laughed. "Did you really think that you could take on Morgana, a high priestess of the Old Religion, all by your little weak selves? I do believe your horses have more brains then you, only a fool would attempt such a thing. Your mission was doomed to fail but thankfully, your destiny has been rewritten."
Gwaine's face turned an odd shade of reddish purple at these insults. "Release our horses from your enchantment and let us be on our way before I strike you down sorceress," he hissed in rage.
The woman frowned. "If I were not in such a rush, I would teach you manners, mortal, but I will have to restrain myself for the time being for you are needed elsewhere."
With that, she raised her hands and uttered a long string of strange words. As the last word left her mouth, both the horses and knights disappeared in a flash of golden light. The Triple Goddess looked at the place where the knights had been standing a moment before and laughed before turning and vanishing once again into thin air.
The Triple Goddess stood in a cave, a dragon's cave to be exact. In front of her laid, Kilgharrah, weak and dying. She strode over to him and placed her hands on his head, making him open his eyes. A flash of recognition ran through his golden eyes as she stroked him.
"Triple Goddess," Kilgharrah rasped, "Are you here to take me to the next life?"
"No," the Triple Goddess answered as she continued to stroke his head, "I am here to allow you to continue this one"
"Why?' Kilgharrah asked, "I have served my purpose, done my duty. There is nothing left for me here."
"There is now," the goddess breathed as her healing spell returned Kilgharrah to full strength, "Arthur will carry on for now. Emrys will need you as a guide in the dark days to come. He will need your knowledge and strength, but most of all he will need your friendship." She looked into his eyes. "Can I trust you to be there for him when he needs you?"
"Yes Triple Goddess, I have been and always will be there for the boy. You have my word," Kilgharrah replied.
"Very well," the goddess said, before fading away like golden mist in the morning.
The Triple Goddess stood on a hill. The trees which grew there were twisted and ancient. They sang of ages past when young Priests and Priestesses had climbed this very hill to revel in the moonlight and sing songs of magic. But those times were long gone and instead the trees guarded a grave newly built, a sword stuck in the earth before it. The Triple Goddess sighed, she did not want to do this, so much could go wrong if the right choices were not made and the right words left unspoken. Still, it was a risk she was willing to take, for without Mordred's help the savior of her people would fail. Slowly, the goddess lifted her arms and face to the sky. Her hair waved in the breeze as she began to sing, a haunting melody filled with both sorrow and joy. She sang of a young life wasted, a destiny left unfulfilled, and a chance for a better future. She finished as suddenly as she had begun and turned to leave. She was not needed here any longer, her work was gone. She faded into the coming dawn light as the rocks of the grave shifted and then broke apart to reveal a hand clawing its way to freedom.
Merlin carried a weak and dying Arthur the last few feet to the Lake of Avalon. Well drug is a more appropriate word to use. Merlin laid Arthur down in the boat in the shallows and commanded it with magic to carry them to the island. The boat lurched forwards, the combined weight of Merlin and Arthur almost too much for it to bear. Merlin fidgeted as the boat crept towards the island. As soon as they touched the shore, he leapt out and lifted Arthur out of the boat and drug him towards the shrine at the islands center.
"Come on Arthur," Merlin said to his friend as he drug Arthur towards the shrine, "I didn't drag you all this way here just to watch you die on the doorstep."
Merlin drug Arthur across the island and to the center of the shrine and laid him gently down. He did not know exactly what was needed to call the Sidhe but he did not need to wonder long. In a few moments, a female Sidhe Elder surfaced from the lake and glided towards the shrine. It alighted besides Arthur and gazed at him for a moment before turning to Merlin.
"We have been expecting you Emrys, "the Sidhe said, "We will heal Arthur for it has been written since the beginning of time itself that you would bring the Once and Future King to this place in his hour of need."
The Sidhe smiled at Merlin's shocked face. "We are not all cruel, some of us still honor the Ancient Vows of brotherhood and friendship that were made in the First Days," she said.
With that, several more Sidhe surfaced and came to sit beside Arthur. They joined hands and began to sing a haunting melody. As they sang, Merlin could feel Magic building in the area around the shrine. Slowly the magic built until with a final burst of melody the magic seemed to flow into Arthur. Merlin watched as the shard of sword which had been slowly working its way towards Arthur's heart came out of the wound and fell down onto the floor beside Arthur. Then the wound itself began to heal, the flesh knitting back together until all that remained was a small scar. Arthur stirred and the Sidhe moved as one, taking to the air and flying back to the lake where they dove beneath the surface and were lost to sight.
Arthur moaned and opened his eyes. "Merlin," he mumbled, "Merlin, where are we?"
Merlin laughed and helped Arthur to his feet. "We are at the Lake of Avalon. The Sidhe healed your wounds and saved your life," Merlin said with a smile on his face.
Arthur swayed on his feet for a moment before turning to face Merlin. He smiled. "Thank goodness for that, I wouldn't have trusted you to heal me yourself." He turned and walked towards the boat motioning for Merlin to follow. Merlin complied happily but not before he paused to retrieve the piece of sword which had been removed from Arthur's chest. Merlin gave a silent thanks to the Sidhe for their help before turning to follow Arthur to the boat.
Okay darlings, this is only part of Chapter One and will be updating soon so please comment and review if you liked it or want to give some creative criticism. Your comments, reviews, and favorites give me incentive to write faster.
